Parkinson's Disease (PD)

When my wife worked on the television show "Family Ties" Michael J. Fox played the character of Alex P. Keaton.  I remember going to the wrap party at Paramount Studios and seeing Michael J. Fox in the restroom.  Brief eye contact, smile, nod, and gone in a heartbeat.  Today Michael J. Fox is known for his advocacy for Parkinson's Disease especially the type that affects his ability to move, the visible tremors/stiffness that he experiences, and his ability to communicate.  He was diagnosed with young-onset in 1991 but did not publicly disclose his diagnosis until 1998.  In January 2000 he retired from the television show Spin City and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

A different type of Parkinson's disease according to WebMD "has non-motor symptoms, like pain, loss of smell, and dementia."  One of the problems with the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is that it can begin with the "degeneration of nerve cells in that part of the brain that controls body movement" and the individual may be asymptomatic.  

Preliminary research by Dr. Mark Lew of the University of Southern California School of Medicine reported that "Our research is the first to show that tears may be a reliable, inexpensive and noninvasive biological marker of Parkinson's disease."  "Lew's team analyzed tear samples from 55 people with Parkinson's and 27 people without the disease. Levels of one type of protein were higher and levels of another type of protein were lower in people with Parkinson's, the findings showed."

"Clues to Parkinson's May Be Shed in Tears" HealthDay News, February 22, 2018.

To learn more about the diagnosis, stages, treatments, and caregivers issues associated with PD go to webmd.com/Parkinson's Disease